David Sassoli, the president of the European Parliament, died early Tuesday. Let’s see more details about David Sassoli and his cause of death in detail.
- Lawmakers will elect a new president later this month
- The Italian Socialist led the European Parliament since 2019.
What happened to David Sassoli?
On Monday, the EU parliament confirmed he had been admitted to a hospital in Italy on December 26. In September 2021, during a plenary session of the parliament, the 65-year-old came down with a bad case of pneumonia.
Sassoli, who was 65, had been under care in Aviano, Italy, Robert Cuillo, his spokesman, said on Twitter. He had been hospitalized since Dec. 26 due to a “serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system,” according to a statement released on Monday.
He had undergone a bone marrow transplant 10 years ago and he died in a cancer clinic in the northeastern town of Aviano.
The @EP_President David Sassoli passed away at 1.15 am on 11 January at the CRO in Aviano( PN), Italy, where he was hospitalized. The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours.
— RobertoCuillo (@robertocuillo) January 11, 2022
Cause of Death
David Sassoli, the president of the European Parliament, died early Tuesday following an immune complication, according to his spokesman.
He passed away after a “serious complication” related to his immune system. “The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours,” he added.
He was married with two children.
Who was David Sassoli?
Sassoli, who was born in Florence, began his career as a journalist in local publications before working for Il Giorno. It is where he reported from Rome. In 1992, he relocated to the national television network RAI of Italy, where he would go on to establish himself as a well-known anchor, delivering the main evening news.
European Parliament President David Sassoli, an Italian socialist and former journalist, died early on Tuesday in a hospital in Italy, his spokesperson said. He was 65.
He had been president of the 705-seat parliament since July 2019 and his term in the predominantly ceremonial role had been due to end this month. Maltese lawmaker Roberta Metsola, from the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), is widely expected to succeed him.
“Sassoli was a symbol of balance, humanity, and generosity. These qualities have always been recognized by all his colleagues, from every political quarter and every European country,” said Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
His time leading the EU assembly was dominated by the coronavirus crisis and he was credited with introducing a remote voting system that allowed the parliament to keep operating even as much of Europe was forced into repeated lockdowns
David’s Career and Next Successor
He was tempted into politics by Walter Veltroni, a former mayor of Rome who became the first leader of the Democratic party when it was formed in 2007. Between 2009 to 2014, Sassoli was the party’s head of delegation in the European Parliament before becoming the surprise compromise choice for president of the chamber in 2019 following a division of the big EU institutional jobs in the wake of that year’s elections.
Sassoli was a member of the chamber’s Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second-biggest grouping after the center-right European People’s party (EPP). MEPs are expected to hold the first round of voting for his successor next week.
Tributes to David Sassoli
Tributes soon poured in for Sassoli, an Italian social democrat.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lamented his loss, saying “Europe has lost a dedicated parliament president, Italy a shrewd politician, and Germany a good friend.”
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock praised Sassoli for “always succeeding in bridging divides.”
She wrote on Twitter that “we will not forget his commitment to dealing humanely with refugees,”
Der Tod von David Maria #Sassoli macht mich sehr traurig. Als EP-Präsident gelang es ihm immer wieder, Gräben zu überwinden und so das Parlament als Ganzes zu stärken. Wir werden seinen überzeugten Einsatz für den menschlichen Umgang mit Geflüchteten nicht vergessen.
— Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock (@ABaerbock) January 11, 2022
EU Council President Charles Michel called the fellow politician a “sincere and passionate European. We already miss his human warmth, his generosity, his friendliness, and his smile.”
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said she was “deeply saddened by the terrible loss of a great European and proud Italian.” In a post on Twitter, she described Sassoli as a “compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament, and a dear friend.”
I am deeply saddened by the terrible loss of a great European & proud Italian.
David Sassoli was a compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament and, first & foremost, a dear friend.
My thoughts are with his family.
Riposa in pace, caro David!
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 11, 2022
“What a big shock and a big loss. I am deeply saddened. He left us too early. My condolences to his family! Dear David, Rest In Peace,” tweeted German MEP Ismail Ertug.
Another MEP, Italian Paolo Borchia, said he was “stunned” by the news as it was so “sudden.” A former journalist, Sassoli was first elected as a member of the European Parliament in 2009. He won another term in 2014 and served as the Parliament’s vice president.
He then became president of the 705-seat legislature in 2019. The parliament sits for a five-year term between elections, but the president of the body serves for half that time, and Sassoli had indicated he would not seek reelection.
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